The ceremony's overlying theme was the gathering of people in celebration, honouring the many seasonal festivals that have been held throughout Great Britain's history.

"[3] Both Gavin and executive producer Stephen Daldry contended that the closing ceremony would not just simply be a Coldplay concert, promising "fantastic visuals and amazing stunts" throughout.

Hazlewood campaigned for the Paraorchestra to be included in the ceremonies of the Paralympics, as he felt that their inclusion could help spread international awareness for disabled musicians.

Some of the dreamers kept falling asleep, but they eventually managed to inflate three crescent moons which were lifted from the ground and suspended, forming the Agitos.

The closing ceremony opened with a film called "The Book of Fire" by director Mike Christie showing "eccentric travellers" from around the city making their way to the Olympic Stadium in steampunk-inspired vehicles prepared by the performance art group Mutoid Waste Company.

[9] Captain Luke Sinnott (who lost both of his legs and an arm in an explosion on-duty in Helmand, Afghanistan, and aimed to compete in sailing at the 2016 Summer Paralympics) proceeded to climb the pole (representing human endeavour) to fly the Union Flag.

Just as Sinnott reached the top of the flag pole, Prince Edward and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Philip Craven were driven through the Agitos on the field in an art car built from the body of a military vehicle and a 1930s automobile.

[7] After climbing the steps to the top of the sundial stage in the centre, the Reader, played by Lance Corporal Rory MacKenzie, addressed the stadium with a speech introducing the theme of the ceremony's cultural presentation, "Festival of the Flame".

The Reader then read a text taken from a modern druidic ritual written by members of the British Druid Order,[10] calling upon the spirits of the four seasons.

After he announced the commencement of the festival, a squad armed with backpack flamethrowers[7] walked onto the field burning patterns similar to crop circles into the grass.

[7] After this, the six newly elected members of the IPC Athlete's Council; Arnaud Assoumani (Athletics, France), Gizem Girismen, (Para–Archery, Turkey), Jon McCullough (7–a–side Football, United States of America), Teresa Perales (Swimming, Spain), Elvira Stinissen (Sitting Volleyball, Netherlands), Yu Chui Yee (Wheelchair Fencing, Hong Kong) were introduced to the stadium.

[12] Coldplay next sang "Up in Flames", with aerial artistes Lyndsay Care (who has cerebral palsy) and Denis Remnev performing a strap act on the Clocks truck.

6 warrior skaters holding flaming torches skated around the Snow Queen (played by Viktoria Modesta) on the South Stage, frozen in her cage.

Coldplay performed "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with guest drummer Mat Fraser, who was born with phocomelia of both arms.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin introduced the British Paraorchestra who performed a short instrumental intro leading into "Strawberry Swing", while dancers behind the orchestra danced their way into the Summer segment.

The first was during a journey on the tube where he met Andrew, a Games Maker, which Coe branded among the heroes of London 2012, who is a doctor at St Mary's hospital whilst on his way to helping out at the boxing.

Craven went on to hail the International and national technical officials, classifiers and particularly the armed forces and emergency services who had stepped into the breach.

Paralympians were noted by Craven for giving to the world many feats that people thought impossible, causing the media to be wax lyrical, and leading many spectators to create what Boris Johnson described as a wall of noise.

Craven concluded by linking Stephen Hawking's words about changing perceptions across multiple dimensions from the opening ceremony to George Glenn, a five-year-old, who was asked a question by his mother, Emma, when reading a book called Treasure.

The final song was followed by a fireworks display over the Olympic Stadium and the Thames River, accompanied by an orchestral and choral arrangement of Coldplay's Politik, during which Tower Bridge was raised.

Whilst acknowledging that Coldplay may not be considered the best example of British music by all viewers, McNulty praised the band for "[knowing] how to play to a stadium and fill it with emotionally, uplifting anthems" and for not performing their "potentially patronizing 'Fix You'."